Apparatus for separating metals from ores.



PATENTED OCT. 23, 1906. R. K. EVANS.

APPARATUS FOR SEPARA-TING METALS FROM ORES.

- APPLICATION FILED DBO. 29, 1904.

4 SHEETS-SHEET l.

No. 834,233. PATENTED 00123, 1906. I R. K. EVANS.

APPARATUS, FOR SEPARATING METALS FROM ORES.

APPLICATION FILED DEC. 29, 1904.

- 4 SHEETS-SHEET 2. r

w/ 71 /553 5 7 I vE/VT 7? v J 110,834,233. PATENT-ED 001 /23, 1906.

. A R. K. EVANS.

I APPARATUS FOR SEPARATING METALS FROM GEES.

APPLIOATION FILED DEG. 29, 1904. I

4 BHEETB-SHEET 3.

-No. 334,233. PATENTED OCT. 23, 1906. R. EVANS. APPARATUS FOR SEPARATINGMETALS FROM ORES.

APPLICATION- FILED DEC. 29. 1904.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 4.

wefzz a r fidb/Zdrazfzans v UNITED STATES PATENT oFFIoE.

RICHARD KENDALL EVANS, or LONDON, ENGLAND, ASSIGNOR TO THE CYANIDEVACUUM FILTER.

LAND.

COMPANY LIMITED, OF LONDON, ENG- y APPARATUS FOR SEPARA T ING METALSFROM ORES.

wivo. 534,233.

To all whom it may r oncrerrt:

Be it known; that I, RICHARD KENDALL EVANS, a subject of the King ofGreat Britain and Ireland,'resid1ng at London, England,

have invented a new and useful Im roved- Apparatus for the SeparationofLiquir s from Solids, particularly applicable to the extraction ofmetals from their ores, of which the following is a specification.

This inventionrelates to a paratus for the separation of liquids from sofids, and is particularly applicable to the extraction of metals fromtheir ores. By way of illustration I will refer to the treatment of goldslimes as one particular urpose to which my invention can be app ied.

The treatment of gold slimesfhas in the I past presented-mechanicalrather than chemical difficulties. the slimes by cyanid or other solventis simple, provided that quick and effective removal of thegold-carrying solvent from the solid residue of the slimes can beeffected in a simple manher.

The efforts of those attem ting to solve the problem in the past have amost invariably been 'directedto dealing with the slimes in large bulk,rendering the separation of the solvent solution from the slimes aslowand more or less ineffective process. The introduction of thefilter-press was an attempt to reduce the separation of the solutionfrom the slimes from bulk to detail, inasmuch as each filter-cake is asubdivision of the whole bulk and is treatedlseparately. Thefilter-press, however, is costly and a not altogether satisfactoryapparatus for dealing with the question, articularly in view of the factthat the conso idated filter-cake imprisons'a certain amount ofmetal-carrying solvent within it, which is inextractable. Attempts,however, have been made recently to effect the separation of liquidsfrom solids by feeding'the material to be treated upon;

an endless band consisting of wire-gauze carrying a sheet of fabric.This band passes over a vacuum-box, so that the solid matter isdelivereddry and can be removed by a scraper or brush, and, finally, the band iscleaned by a washing appliance ready for receiving further quantity ofmaterial for treatment. The

- mechanism in this case is of a somewhat com- Specification of LettersPatent. Application filed December 29, 1904. Serial No. 238.809.

The dissolution of the gold in treatment delivered from a suitable de-Patented Oct. 23, 1906.

plicated and delicate character, and risk of derangement would appear tobeconsiderable, specially with regard to forming a joint between theendless band and vacuum-box, as s ecial arrangements have been designedto e ect'this purpose, and, further, the washin of the solid materialhas not been possible in the same machine as the separation, anddistinct machines have been found necessary for the purpose.

My invention substitutes simpler and more substantial mechanism for theendless filtering-band above described and permits ofa thorough washingof the solid matter with wash-water or secondary solution in the samemachine as effects the original separation and consists in thearrangementof a series of se ar'ate filtering elements which areconnecte together, so as to form or be carried by an endless chain orband substantially in the manner as obtains in well-known conveyingapparatus used for the purpose of ing material.

Each of the filtering elements may consist of a preferably open box orreceptacle having a filterin medium supported across it, onto which saidfiltering medium the material for transportlivery' device. The spacebelow the filtering medium is connected to meansv for exhausting theatmosphere therefrom, whereby the rate offiltrationis effected and thesolid matter is relieved of its moisture. This moisture may be withdrawnby the said exhausting means, or, if necessary, a special deliverydevice may be provided for permitting the de-, livery of the liquidindependent of the gaseous exhaustion. Means are provided forautomatically connecting and disconnecting the exhausting device witheach filtering device or element at certain stages in the movement ofthe series. Means are also provided for delivering wash-water to thefiltering elements, so that the solid residue is thoroughly freed of anymetal-carrying solvent that may be contail-ezl therein, the solventsolution being rephaced ultimately by wash-water, and thus produce ahigh extraction of metal with a minimum of residual metal-carryingsolvent. If found necessary, means are pro-. vided for deliveringa-charge of air behind the solid residue at the point of discharge or 7tion.

near the same, so as to make it fall clear of the filterin medium, wherethe solid residue is being discharged from the filtering element.

In order that the invention maybe the better understood, I will nowproceed to describe the same in relation to the accompanying drawings,reference being ters marked thereon. v

Figure 1 is a side elevation of one form of machine constructed to-carryout my inven- Fig. 2 is an end'elevation of the same, partially insection. Fig. 3 is an enlarged part-sectional detail view of thefiltering elements as'shown in Figs. 1 and 2. and 2" are a partsectional elevation and side had to the let- I elevation, respectively,of means for supplymachine shown in Fig. 5. Fig. 7 is a plan of themachine as shown in Figs. 5 and 6.

, Referring now to Figs. 1, 2, 3, and 4', it will be seen that eachfiltering elementconsists of a tray (1, provided with a transversefilteringdiaphragm I), supported on bearers c and held in place by gridsd. Each tray is pro-' Vided with means, such' as rollers e, adapted torun upon a support or way f at the upper,

part and at the lower part upon a support or wa g. t The filteringelements are joined toget er in a series as an endless band, thefiltering elements being guided at the ends of the machine upon thesupporting-wheels h. Each tray a has an airipe 1', provided with a cookor valve j, which connect with a ipe 1:, common to each element of theseries, aving at portions of its length the flexible connecting-pieces,which permit of the angular movement of the filtering elements relativeto one another when passing round the wheel at each end. The pipelc isconnected at one part with a flexible pipe 1, which is coiled round a,spring-drum m, providedwith communication at its axis of movement n witha pipe 0, leading therefrom-. The object of this arrangement isto permitof the pipe I accommodatin itself to the position of its connection witthe pipe is when requiring more or less length, according to itsdistance exit-orifice of which is controlled by a valve Fig. 4, openingoutward, which said valve closes automatically during the time theexhaustion is taking place,- but immediately opens when the exhaustingmeans are cut off and allows'the liquid contained in the lowercompartment of the filtering element to be disc arged into a trough 1",supported in any suitable ma 'er. The liquid collected in the trough ris led away by the pipes s 5.

Suitable projections tare supported on the rails or ways f or on anyother suitable support, which coact 'with the cross-handles of the cocksto turn them on or off at the necessary point in their travel i. e. whenthe vacuum has to be turned on or off. When the tray has reached theosition under the supply-chute u from whic the filtering elementsreceive their proper charge of material to be treated, the exhaustingmeans are put into communication with the under side of the filter untilthe said filtering element arrives over the trough 1, when the vacuumcan be cut oif and the liquid collected in the lower compartment of thefiltering element is allowed to discharge into the trough 1*. The trough1 may be divided into sections and spraying means 1' adapted to deliverweak solution or wash-water to reduce the amount of residualmetahearrying solvent in the solid residue.

If desired, the liquid can be removed from the under side of thefiltering medium by the exhausting means, together with the gaseousmatter.

If desired, a similar arrangement of pi e j, k and l, and cocksj can beprovided 1n the opposite side of the machine and connected to thefiltering elements in a similar manner, and connected to a source ofcompressed air or other gaseous fluid, and arranged so that a charge ofcompressed air is delivered to the under side of the filtering medium,so as to assist in forcin the solid residue away from the up er sur aceof the said medium when the disc arge of the solid residue is takingplace. This arrangement is shown in-Figs. 1 and 2 and consists of cock jand pipes 1' and Z a sprin -drum m and pi e 0, connected to the supp yof compresse air, and fixed projections t, provided on the machine tocoact with the cooks j to turn them on-or off at the desired points.

In Figs. 5, 6, and 7 I show a modified construction in which the up orway f is formed tubular and is connected to the exhausting mechanism bythe pipe Z. The tubular way f has a slot on its upper side, while thetrays a, have saddle-she ed bearing-pieces a on their lower side, whichexactly fit the u er surface of the tubular way f These saddlepieces ahave a passage at their upper portion, which communicates with the spacein the tray immediately under the filtering medium, and in this way theexhausting means are put into communication with the' under side of thefilter for a certain period during the travel of the trays along thetubular ways f, said period being determined by the length of the slotin the tubular way Above the trays spraying means 1" are provided fordelivering wash-water or weak solution to the trays. On the under sideof the tubular Wayf oneor more pi es s are arranged, which take theliqui passing through the filtering medium at different points in thetravel of the trays, so that, for example, a rich solvent ma pass downthe first pipe, a medium one own the second ipe, and a weak one down thethird pipe.

he tubular way is subdividedbetween these said pipes. The other tubularWay f can be connected to thesupply-pipe y for air under pressure toassist in remov ng the solid residue. The slot in this wayf is not shownin Fig. 6, as this slot does not extend to the point where this sectionis taken, for, of course, the pressure is not a plied when the vacuum ison. The perio 1n which the pressure is supplied to the trays isdetermined by the length of slot in the tubular way. f

In. order to simplify the arrangements by which the vacuum is connectedto the sub.

are carried at the junction of the trays toeach other and are used forsupportin the said trays during their passage on the Tower rail or wayg. The other arrangements in this modified construction aresubstantially the same as that already described. A simple method ofoperating the machine is by worm and worm-wheel gearing 2, as shown. Theoperation of the machine is as follows:

- Dealing first with the machine as shown in Figs. 1, 2, and 3, themixture, of the liquid and solid material to be treated is fed-at apredetermined rat down the chute u, and is delivered into the ray whichhappens to be immediately under the said chute. 'The whole machine isoperated in the direction of the 'ar- -rows from any suitable source ofpower and is moved at a slow rate. As the filtering element thus chargedmoves away from under the chute the moisture is extracted there fromthrough the filterin medium b means of the exhaustion from t e pipes 7c,and 1'. When the element has reached such a position that thedelivery-pipe is over the tray 1, thecock 7' comes in contact with therojection t and is revolved about one-fourt revolution, so as to cut offtheexhausting means maticall In this way from the under side of thetray. The liquid contained in the said tray now runs out from theself-acting valve 9, Fig. f1, into the trouiglh -1' and thence away bythe pipe 8. As the tering element travelsround the wheel h at theleft-hand end it delivers its contents'into the chute '0, provided forthe pur ose, and if airressure is used to assist such elivery the 000admitting such air-pressure to. the under side of the filter is openedas the filtering element is passing round from the upper ways f to thelower way g and is'closed again when the filtering element has traveledsufliciently far to allow it to be fully discharged.

Dealing now with the operation of the ma-' chine as illustrated in Figs.5, 6, and 7, the operation of chargin trays is precisely simi ar tothose alrea y deand dischargin' the scribed; but in this case themovement of the filtering elements along the tubular ways au:tomatically sets up and cuts off the communication of the exhaustingmeans with the filtering elements, and when a aseous ressureis appliedthrough one o the tu ular ways the control of such pressure is automeans0 the slots therein. It will be seen that this construction entirelyovercomes the dis advantages involved in the use of flexible pipes andconnection and thecon'trol-valve connected therewith. Having nowparticularly described and aseffected in the same way i. e., by

certained the nature of my said invention and in what manner the same isto be performed, I declare that what I claim is- 1. An apparatus forseparating liquid from solid matter consisting of a series ofindependent filtering-trays each having an independent and separatefiltering medium fixedly attached thereto and an inclosed space on theliquid-delivery side of the said medium;

means for continuousl supplying the material to be treated to t efiltering-surface of the said trays consecutively the said means andthefiltering-trays being adapted to move relatively to one another,means connected with the said inclosed space for. exhausting the matterpassing through the filterin medium, means for controlling the period 0said exhaustion and means b which the filteringtrays are discharged ofthe solid residue.

2. An apparatus for separating liquid from solid matter consisting of aseries of independent filtering trays each having an independent andseparate filtering medium fixedly attached thereto and an inclosed s aceonthe liquid-delivery side of said medium means for continuouslysupplying the material to be treated to the said trays consecutivel thesaid means and filtering-trays being a apted to move relatively to oneanother, means for exhausting the atmosphere from the liquid-deliveryside of the filtering Inedium,rneans for automatically controlling theperiod of said I exhaustion, means for discharging the liquid passedthrough the filtering medium and means by which the filtering-trays aredischarged of the said residue;

3. In an apparatus for the continuous and automatic separation of liquidfrom solid matter, a series of filtering-trays each consisting of avacuum-box, an independent and separate filtering medium fixedlyattached thereto and a receptacle for receiving thematerial to betreated in combination with a feeding device and means for giving eachfiltering-tray and the feeding device a movement relative to oneanother.

'4. An apparatus for se arating liquid from solid matter consisting oi aseries of filteringtrays, each tray having an inde endent and separatefiltering medium fixe ly attached theretoand an inclosed space on theliquid delivery side of said medium, the said trays being connectedtogether as a movable endless band, tubular ways adapted to allow thetrays to slide thereon and to form a connectionbetween exhausting meansand the liq,-

uid-delivery side of the filtering medium, means for maintaining andcarrying the band in its extended form, a feeding device for de'livering the materials to be treated to the filtering trays and meansfor receiving the delivery of the solid residue' i 5. An apparatus forse arating liquid from solid matter consisting o a series offilteringtrays each having an inde endent and sepamovement between eachfiltering-tray and the feeding and water-spraying devices.

6. An apparatus for separating liquid from .ed to the filtering mediumof the said trays consecutivel means for supplying liquid to the materiadeposited on the filtering me- "dium, a series of devices forwithdrawing the liquid which has passed through the filtering medium bywhich solutions of different character can be separately obtained andmeans for producing relative movement between each filtering-tray andthe feeding and waterspraying devices.

7. An apparatus for separating liquid from solid matter consisting of aseries of independent filtering-trays each having an independent and searate filtering medium fixedly attached t ereto and an inclosed space onthe liquid-delivery side of the said medium; means for continuouslysupplying the material to be treated to'the filtering-surface of thesaid trays consecutively the said means and the filtering-trays beingadapted to move relatively to one another, means connected with the saidinclosed space for exhausting the matter passing through the filteringmedium, means for controlling the period of said exhaustion means forsuppl ing a com pressed gaseous charge under t e layer of solid materialto disengage it from the filtering medium, means for controlling thesupply of said gaseous charge and means by which the filtering-trays aredischarged of the solid residue.

In testimony whereof I haveisigned my name to this specification in thepresence of two subscribing witnesses.

RICHARD KENDALL EVANS.

Witnesses:

PERCY J. OGLE, JoHN PHILLIPS.

